When children go outside in cold weather, they typically wear gloves to keep their hands warm or dry. While wearing gloves, it is difficult to carry dolls or other toys, and sometimes toys are dropped, damaged, or even lost. As any parent knows when a child loses a favorite toy, the child become inconsolable. Having a doll or other type of toy configured to removeably and directly attach to an exterior surface of a glove can advantageously allow a child to play with the doll while also retaining full utility of the glove as a hand protecting device.
Some dolls include a hand-receiving cavity such that the toy can be used as a hand puppet. Others have developed various forms of hand-puppets combined with gloves. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,065 to Baiera describes a hand puppet associated with an in operative glove component. However, in Baiera the hand goes inside the body of the puppet, and all finger receiving cavities are disposed inside an appendage of the puppet while the glove is present to create an illusion of a glove. Thus, the glove lacks utility separate from the puppet. Another Example includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,640 to Amici, which describes puppet in combination with a glove. In Amici, the glove represents an integral part of the puppet where the fingers of the glove operate as appendages of the puppet. Again, the glove lacks utility as a separate hand protecting device because the glove is permanently affixed to the puppet.
Yet others have coupled toys with a glove while keeping the toy and glove distinct from each other. Great Britain patent 1,428,859 to Stubbmann describes a marionette coupled with a glove component where movement of the glove translates into movements of the marionette. In Stubbmann the toy couples with a glove by strings and also requires a stand for additional support. In this case the toy is configured to be at a distance from the glove to increase the illusion that marionette is autonomously controlled. Another example where a toy is distinct from a glove includes U.S. Pat. No. 7,003,810 to Goldkind, which describes a finger puppet in combination with a partial glove concealed in the knee pockets of a pair of jeans. In this case the partial glove lacks utility as a separate device and the small finger puppets can not be removed. In other references, as in the Educational Insights (See FIG. 1; see also URL www.educationalinsights.com/product/teachers/category/imaginative+-+role+play/puppets/storytelling+glove.do) and in U.S. patent application publication 2009/0193562 to Magglo, the disclosed systems require multiple distinct puppets or body parts where the puppets and body parts attach to a glove. In these cases, appendages of the puppets lack the ability to move independently from each other or the puppets are too small could be lost.
Independent movement of a doll's appendages would be desirable in a glove-doll combination. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,070 to Mullen describes an articulated toy figure having rings attached to certain movable limbs where the rings are intended to clamp onto a user's fingers. Finger movement then translates to movement of the toy's limb movement. Interestingly, in Mullen, the articulated toy is not attached to a glove component, but directly attaches to a finger.
A puppet capable of making sounds in response to user finger movement would also be desirable for increased play value. U.S. patent application publication 2004/0121702 to Siebert describes a finger toy that can generate a sound when tapped against a hard object. Ideally, a puppet would generate sounds in response to appendage movement, possibly generating a story.
A more ideal glove-doll combination would include a glove that can also be leveraged simply as a glove and include a physically distinct doll capable of removeably attaching to the glove via its appendages. In such a configuration, the glove retains its full utility as a glove and the doll can be played with separately without the glove. Furthermore, the doll can be attached to the glove for combined play as a puppet. A sufficiently large doll decreases the risk of loss. Even in view of the previous efforts directed toward combining dolls with gloves, no known effort has been focused on providing a doll having at least some of the appendages configured to removeably and directly attach to an exterior surface of the glove where movement of a finger within a finger receiving cavity of the glove causes independent and separate movement of the doll appendages.
Thus, there is still a need for a glove-doll combination that allows for play with the doll separate from the glove, play with the doll when attached to the glove, and use of the glove without the doll.